To say there's nothing new here isn't exactly fair. Yes, there's stuff about Jews-versus-Gentiles in restaurants, but there's no Starbucks, no Ed Sullivan, and a just a little less Bill Clinton. About 50 percent of the material this time around deals with post-9/11 airport security, low-fat foods, and George Bush and Ariel Sharon. And if you've never seen Mason's act, your laughs are likely to be a lot louder than those of us who've been cheering on his unique, marvelous shtick since "World According to Me." The real disappointment - to be expected really - is that Mason has far more deference for the current president than he did for the last one. So he jibes lightly at George Jr.'s speaking style and mimics Shimon Peres's jowly baritone, but the zing isn't there.
It's not that Mason needs more new jokes; he needs to invest more in the jokes he tells.
